Portable clothes hanger



NOV. 4, 1952 M" c, AKERS 2,616,569

PORTABLE CLOTHES HANGER Filed July 6, 1951 2 SHEETSeSHEET l luv EMToQ Manama-m C.A\ Ens AT To an EY5 Patented Nov. 4, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ORTA E CLOTHES HANGER Merrideth C. Akers, Carbon Hill, Ala.

Application July 6, 1951, Serial No. 235,482

4 Claims. 1

This invention appertains to improvements in clothes hangers and has for its primary object to provid a portable clothes hang whi h ca be dependably and easily mounted between a pair of opposing walls in a room or between any opposed parallel supporting surfaces, without the use of fastening means engageable in the walls or supporting surfaces and without the use of any base supports.

Another object of this invention is to provide a clothes hanger that can be detachably secured between a pair of opposing side walls of a room in a manner to be horizontally disposed in the room at any desired point above the floor.

A further object of this invention is to'provide a portable clothes hangar, which includes an axially adjustable frame, on the opposing ends of which anchoring members are pivotally secured, one end of each of the anchoring members being frictionally engageable with the opposing walls of a room or similar supporting surfaces, the opposing ends of the anchoring members carrying a line for receiving clothes, so that the weight of the clothes effects a more secure engagement of the ends of the anchoring members with the walls or supporting surfaces.

These and ancillary objects and structural features of merit are attained by this invention, the preferred embodiments of which are set forth in the following description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a clothes hanger, constructed in accordance with this invention and illustrating the same operatively mounted between a pair of opposing walls;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view thereof;

Figure ,3 is an end elevational view thereof;

Figure 4 is a detail sectional view taken on line 4-4 of Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary longitudinal vertical sectional view taken on line 55 of Fi ure l and ust at t mean f r ock n he xial y adjustable frame in adjusted position;

Figure 6 is a view in perspective of another o m Of h s p ing f me nd F gure 7 i a ra e se e t al vi w illu trating the locking means provided for the frame, illustrated in Figure 6.

With continued reference to the accompanying drawings, and particularly Figures 1 through '5 thereof, the clothes hanger I6 is especially designed for mounting between a pair of Opposing walls I l and I3 of a room or similar vertically disposed and parallel supporting surfaces, the clothes hanger being adjustable to compensate for the distance between the walls.

The clothes hanger includes a supporting frame l2, which consists of a pair of telescopically arranged tubular members l4 and I6, the member l6 being slida'bly disposed within the member l4, so that the frame is axially adjustable. Locking means I8 is provided for securing the members in adjusted telescopic position, the locking means including a collar 20, which is circumposed on the tubular member l4 and is formed with a radially disposed threaded openin 22 for the reception of the threaded shank 24 of a wing bolt 26. An opening 28 is formed in the tubular member 14, the opening being registrable with the opening 22 in the collar, so that the shank 24 passes therethrough, whereby the end of the shank is frictionally engageable on the tubular member 16 to lock the member 16 in adjusted position of extension from the tubular member l4.

The outer ends of the tubular members 14 and iii are exteriorly threaded and are disposed in T-couplings 30 and 32, the T-couplings rotatably receiving cross rods 34 and 66, which form a part of the frame. The rods 34 and 36 are rotatably disposed within the T-couplings 30 and 32 and support anchoring members 38 and 46, which are engageable on the walls and which support a clothes line.

Each of the anchoring members is similarly formed and, as seen in Figure 3, the anchoring member 38 includes a pair of legs 56 and 52, which are formed intermediate their ends with aligned lateral openings 46 and 46, within which the opposing ends of the rod 36 are socketed. Thus, legs 56 and 52 are secured, intermediate their ends, to the opposin ends of the rod 36. A foot member 54 is secured to the lower beveled extremities of the legs 56 and 52 and is provided with a resilient covering 56, the outer surface 58 of the foot member being convex and the resilient cover 56 encompassing the outer surface and being provided to protect the surface of the wall I I, with which the foot member is engageable. Similarly, a connecting or foot member 66 is transversely secured to the lower ends of the legs 40 and '42 and is provided with a resilient cover 62, which is engageable on the inner surface of the wall l3.

A cross member 64 is secured at its opposing ends by fasteners 6 to he outer urfaces of the les o each anchorin f me and a coil prin 68 has one end '16 disposed on the cross member and the oppos n end secured t an upstand n ar 12 f rmed on th frame member 14 adj n the outer end thereof. Similarly, a spring 14 is anchor d at one end to an apertured car 16 formed on the outer end of the tubular member I6 and has its upper end disposed on a cross member 11, which extends between the legs 42 and 44 of the anchoring member 40. The springs 58 and 14 are provided to retain the upper ends of the anchoring frames on a common plane, when a load is imposed adjacent one of the frames which imposition of a load, Without the springs, would tend to buckle the affected frame inwardly.

The upper extremities of the legs of each of the anchoring members are beveled, so that the ends are in coplanar relation, when the anchoring members are disposed in wall engagement, as seen in Figure 2. Means is carried thereby for receiving a clothes line 89. One end of the clothes line is securely fastened to an eye bolt 82, which is vertically aflixed to the upper end 83 of the leg 56 and the line is entrained on guide sheaves 84, 86, and 88 which are rotatably mounted on the upper extremities of the legs 42, 44 and 52.

Each of the sheaves or pulleys is similarly mounted, the mounting means therefor including a U-shaped bracket 96, the opposing legs 92 and S4 of which are horizontally arranged, the outer end of the leg 92 extending beyond the outer end of the leg 94 and being pivotally attached by a pivot pin 96 to the legs of the anchoring members. The pulleys are rotatably journaled by vertical pins 98, extending between the legs or the closed ends of the brackets facing inwardly, so that the line passes through the outer open ends of the brackets and around the guide sheaves.

Tensioning means I013 is provided, so that the line 80 can be tightened on the guide pulleys, the tensioning means including a hand tool I62, secured to the upper end of leg 52 and which includes a pair of pivotal levers I64 and I66. The lever I04 is provided with an enlarged head I68, which is formed with opposing U-shaped ends H2 and H4, the ends being spaced to provide an entrance slot H6 for the line. The enlarged upper end I I8 of the lever I66 is secured by a pivot I20 to the end II4, and the upper end H8 is formed with a lateral offset IZI, having serrations I22 formed on its free end, which are engageable with the line 80 to lock the line within the end H2 of the head III].

In use, the frame members I4 and I6 are adjusted in extended position, dependent upon the distance between the walls I2 and I4 or similar opposed supporting surfaces and the springs I4 and 68 are operative to swing the legs 42 and 44 and the legs 50 and 52 by means of the rods 34 and 36 about the couplings 36 and 32, so that the lower ends thereof are brought into frictional engagement with the walls. The line, which is entrained about the pulleys, can then be tensioned, by swinging the levers I64 and IE6 apart and moving the line through the end IIZ of the head I II) of lever I04. When the desired tension is obtained, the levers can be brought together, so that the offset end I26 on the lever I66 frictionally engages the line and clamps the line to the end II2 of the head IIll.

It will be appreciated that with the imposition of the weight of the clothes on the line 80, the anchoring members will be further pivoted about their axis, so that the lower ends thereof will be brought into more secure engagement of the walls, the resilient covers 62 and 56 protecting the surfaces of the walls and also providing means for obtaining a more effective frictional engagement between the Walls and the anchoring members.

Another form of frame structure is illustrated in Figures 6 and 7, the same including a pair of parallel elongated rods I24 and I26, which are arranged in side by side extensible relation, the outer ends of the rods supporting transverse rods I28 and I30, which correspond to the rods 34 and 36. U-shaped brackets I32 are provided for anchoring the cross rods on the outer ends of the rods I24 and I26, the cross rods being cradled in the web portion I34 of the brackets and the opposing legs I36 and I38 of the brackets being transversely curved to conform to the curvature of the upper and lower portions of the rods, with fastening members I40 afiixing the legs to the rods. The rods I24 and I26 are retained in extensible relation by opposing plates I42 and I44, the plates having outwardly curved center sections I46 and I48, which are in confronting relation and which receive a fastener I56, which is interposed between the rods I24 and I26. The opposing ends I52 and IE4 of each of the plates are curved inwardly, so as to conform to the curvature of the opposing sides of the rods I24 and I26 on which they are engaged, as seen in Figure 7. Thus, the plates are clamped by the fastener I 56 to secure the rods I24 and in adjusted position of extension.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

l. A clothes hanger comprising an extensible frame having cross rods at the ends thereof, anchoring members disposed transversely of the ends of the frame and pivoted intermediate their ends to said rods, said anchoring members being adapted to be substantially vertically arranged for engagement with opposing walls in a room, said members having lower resilient ends frictionally engageable on the walls, resilient means connected to the frame and the anchoring members above their pivoted portions to urge the lower ends outwardly into frictional engagement of the walls and a clothes line connected to the upper end portions of the members.

2. A clothes hanger comprising an extensible frame having cross rods at the ends thereof, anchoring members disposed transversely of the ends of the frame and pivoted intermediate their ends to said rods, said anchoring members being adapted to be substantially vertically arranged for engagement with opposing walls in a room, said members having lower resilient ends frictionally engageable on the walls resilient means connected to the frame and the anchoring members above their pivoted portions to urge the lower ends outwardly into frictional engagement of the walls, said frame including telescopically con nected tubular members and locking means securing said elements in adjusted position and a clothes line connected to the upper end portions of the anchoring members.

3. A clothes hanger comprising and extensible frame having cross rods at the ends thereof, anchoring members disposed transversely of the ends of the frame and pivoted intermediate their ends to said rods, said anchoring members being adapted to be substantially vertically arranged for engagement with opposing Walls in a room, said members having lower resilient ends frictionally engageable on the walls and resilient means connected to the frame and the anchoring members above their pivoted portions to retain the upper ends in the same plane, said resilient means including springs anchored to the ends of the frame and a cross member on each anchoring member disposed above the pivotal axis of the anchoring members and connected to one end of said springs, and a clothes line connecting the upper portions of said anchoring members.

4. A clothes hanger comprising an extensible frame having cross rods at the ends thereof, anchoring members disposed transversely'of the ends of the frame and pivoted intermediate their ends to said rods, said anchoring members being adapted to be substantially vertically arranged for engagement with opposing walls in a room, said members having lower resilient ends frictionally engageable on the walls and resilient means connected to the frame and the anchoring members above their pivoted portions to retain the upper ends in the same plane, means formed on the upper ends of the anchoring members mounting a clothes line thereon, and means for tensioning the clothes line to further swing the anchoring members about the pivotal connections to said cross rods.

MERRIDETH C. AKERS.

6 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

